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Investigation

Alright, so I'm trying to capture the feel of this faceless assassin following clues to his target, or something along those lines.

Alright so this is where I'm at. This is only a couple hours in. I'm going to render out the sword on the guy's back next to give the impression that the one in his hands does not belong to him. I'm also going to put blood on the blade he's holding and maybe some blood and scratches on the nearest tree in the background, tying the sword to the location.

I'm wondering though what you guys would do to give the impression that this guy is a hunter. I put him in black and made him faceless to give an assassin feel, but I really want to express that the sword is a clue in an investigation, and not have the painting be just some guy holding a sword. So, if you have any ideas feel free to blurt them out.

Fixed some stuff, brightened the image, added an orange-ish overlay and painted a little more. I'm thinking maybe I'll add glowy runes to the blade to add interest and create a focal point. Also thinking about making his right hand hold the blade and not the handle to try to further suggest that the blade is not his.

I'll get to those thumbnails soon, but I feel like I can at least do something with this so I've been playing around with it. Still need a better outfit though.

(Also if the image is too big to see the whole thing on your screen, just right click and open image in new tab.)

I can't figure out whats going on after the sword, also his hand seems to be really quite tiny, unless its some distorted perspective that I just haven't figured out. If theres a fire at his knees, I'm sure there would be much more in the way of a shiny armour. I would suggest trying to find some sort of reference (though it could be quite difficult. Maybe a dinner table knife next to a candle, to see how bright it goes?)

That mask looks really uncomfortable and also difficult to breathe in. Personally I wouldn't be wearing it unless I was in a battle with my enemy right there swinging at me, otherwise it would be up on my head. All that to say there doesn't seem to be a compelling reason for this guy to be wearing the mask other than you want him to be 'faceless'. Check out what Orson Wells does with the lighting of faces in Citizen Kane for some ideas on this.

The Following User Says Thank You to Chas For This Useful Post:

So I was thinking about this mask.
I think that the round eyes make it a little comical, it makes me think more of a smiley face than an assassin or a hunter. I think a hunter perhaps would have a mask that just covers the eyes and nose, and a hood, or maybe something to make them blend in a lot more. A smiley face doesn't really strike fear into your heart (except maybe if it's carved out of flesh or something.

My advice would be to either change the full face mask for a partial face mask- have a look at what foot soldiers used to wear- or change the eyes. Make them slits, ones that perhaps look sinister.

The Following User Says Thank You to hollow-kitty For This Useful Post:

Yes, I think you are both right about the mask. At first, I actually did have slits, but as I was painting, I thought to myself how silly it would be for someone who's job is to use their senses, to severely limit the most valuable one. So I tried making some shapes that allow for more vision without being too big or strange. I guess this is what I came up with.

I was thinking maybe to cut off the boring lower half of it so it's not just a face plank. Turn it into something fanciful. I also got some helpful tips from a friend at enliighten. Figure I'll leave a link: